Ranger's Apprentice Camp
by Dapplepath
Summary: A story of going to a Ranger's Apprentice themed camp when I was ten years old, which ends up being an adventure, but only with the help of a trouble causing cousin. Please Read and Review! Disclaimer: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice.
1. Arrival

I peeked out the car window as we pulled into the parking lot outside the registration building, there were about thirty or so cars in the gravel parking lot, kids and their parents were getting out and getting suitcases and sleeping bags and other such items organised. There were so many people and I had no idea what to expect. Was I just a bit scared? Yeah, you could say that.

Mom parked the car, then she turned around and smiled at me, "Here we are, little ranger!" she said cheerfully, I scowled fiercely at her in return.

"I'm not a Ranger yet. Still have plenty of training left... And I 'aint little, either." Which was a totally untrue statement, I was tiny for my age. Mom nodded, conceding to my point. She was small to.

Then she unbuckled and got out of the car, I got out to, hauling my suitcase ans sleeping bag with me. Mom took my suitcase from me so that I wouldn't have such a heavy load.

As we walked over to the table set up in front of the main building, I was careful to walk silently, not crunching any leaves or twigs with my feet. I wanted to show the people at ranger camp that I could walk like a hunter. Was I a strange child? Yes. I certainly was. When we arrived up at the table after navigating our way through people and suitcases, I studied the kids around me, wondering who I would be friends with, who would be a challenge in dealing with, and who might be as good a ranger as me. A few people immediately stood out for the different categories. There was a small girl with a sour expression and a thin pointed face who carried nothing, leaving her mom to carry her three suit cases, pillow, and sleeping bag. She clutched a shiny hardback copy of The Royal Ranger to her chest, she met my gaze and smirked slightly, then she mouthed the words _'Halt dies.' _I felt like lunging at her and strangling her. I hadn't read that book yet. Besides, she was probably lying. Halt. Couldn't. Die. It was... It was _inconceivable!_

I bet you can guess what category I put _her _in.

The next person I noticed was a kid who looked like a mini version of how I pictured Will, with the short, messy brown hair, tan skin, and brown eyes. He was smiling at everything and bouncing up and down in excitement. I thought he could potentially fit into two categories.

Then we were up at the table, the lady sitting there was overweight with short, curly brown hair, there was nothing even remotely ranger-like about her. She smiled down at me, "Welcome to camp" then she looked at my mom and said in a more brisk voice, "Do you have the registration and medical forms with you?" Mom nodded and handed over the requested papers to the lady. I looked around, extremely disappointed, I was surrounded by kids and their parents, as well as a few other adults in bright orange tee-shirts that read _staff. _But no rangers, there was not even a bow in sight.

"Alright-y then!"said the lady, straightening her glasses, "You will be in cabin one, sweetie pie," she smiled at me again, "Isn't that nice! And your Ranger leader for the week is..." she looked down to consult her papers, "Ranger Beth!" Ranger Beth? "Now you can run along to the rec. field, right over there, darling," she pointed to a large open grassy area, "And find your cabin group, if you have any trouble finding them, then you should ask one of the nice, big people in the orange shirts? 'K honey?" I nodded, ready to get away from her, her little pet names were really getting on my nerves. My mom put a hand on my shoulder to keep me from running off, she looked at the registration lady and frowned.

"I would prefer if you allowed me to go down to her cabin with her and get her settled?" Mom said, her nails drumming on the table.

The lady smiled again, "The Rangers and staff will see to it that she gets to her cabin alright, your holding up the line." I could tell that Mom was about to get angry, so I stood on my tip-toes and hugged her, knowing that would distract her, I never willingly hugged people.

"I will be fine, Mom." I said, pulling back and landing back on my flat feet, "Besides," I smiled, "You and Dad are going to miss you flight to Germany if you don't go soon."

Mom frowned, confused, "Netherlands, actually, Amsterdam, but... Well, you sure you're going to be all right?"

"Yeah." I said, nodding vigorously.

"Your Aunt Cindy is going to pick you up at the end of the week and then you are going to stay for another week at her house, remember?" She said. I nodded, which was my typical response to anything she said.

"Off you go then... Ranger." she said.

I frowned at her, and then grabbed my suitcase and sleeping bag and set off across the grass, annoyed that she had called me a Ranger when I was clearly only a ranger _apprentice._


	2. The First Mission

_**If your wondering about the layout of the camp, I based it off of Camp Luz in Ohio, I don't know if there is a map of that anywhere, but if you have ever been there, that is kind of what this looks like.**_

_**And sorry if I don't update very quickly, I am working on other stories as well as this one right now.**_

_**By the way, of you haven't read The Royal Ranger, then don't worry about what I said in the last chapter, because I haven't read the Royal Ranger either! I have no inkling weather or not Halt dies, though I sure hope he doesn't! Now then... to the next chapter!**_

I wandered across the grass, looking around for some sort of hint as to where cabin one was meeting. I walked over to a worn wooden picnic table at the edge of the trees that surrounded the field, I stood up on the table and looked around, surprised at how many more boys there were than girls. Then a voice piped up from in the trees behind me.

"Hey! Hey, Annie, pssst!"

I jumped down from the table and looked into the woods, crouching behind a tree, surrounded by vines and leaves was my cousin, Billy, dirt smeared over his pale skin, his white-blond hair a mess. I looked at him, unimpressed, "You know that that is poison ivy, right?"

He looked around at the vines surrounding him, brushing up against his face and arms, "Oh. I don't get poison ivy anyway." I frowned, that wasn't fair. Last summer I had had poison ivy all over my hands and ankles. "Anyways!" He said, his pale green eyes narrowing in excitement, "I found out where all of our _rangers _are at." When he used the word ranger it sounded not like it was dripping in sarcasm, more like it had been submerged in an ocean of it.

I frowned at him, "Aaaand...?"

"And I want you to come with me and see for yourself what these _rangers _are like!" There was that ocean of sarcasm again.

I grinned and shoved my suitcase and sleeping bag under the picnic table, "Count me in."

I slipped into the woods, carefully avoiding the poison ivy patch, Billy slipped through the trees, I followed him, silent as a fox. We made our way through the trees and undergrowth, silently, I might add, if a bit slowly because of it. The rec. field was out of sight now, though I could still catch the sound of the kids all shouting and running around, well, I suppose I didn't hear them _running, _but that is what I assumed they were doing, from experience, I knew that that was what kids were _always _doing.

I almost asked how far away the place we were going was, when I swallowed the question back whole as the trees parted and we found ourselves at the edge of a grassy yard surrounding a small log cabin-like building, except that it had a TV signal thing sticking up from the roof. I looked questioningly at Billy, who nodded in response. This was where our rangers were at.

"Here's the plan." whispered Billy, "We get across the yard as fast as we can without to much noise, then we get in through that window," he pointed to a small basement window that was propped open, "We watch and we listen, we don't get caught, and once they all leave, then we make our getaway, possibly take some candy on the way out, recover our luggage and go back to the rec. field before they even notice we are gone!"

The plan made sense. I nodded my consent.

At that point we hit the deck and army crawled across the yard, all the while I was thinking, My first adventure at range camp, spy on the rangers themselves. Mission Possible.

"Ahem?"

Me and Billy froze.

Then we slowly looked over our shoulders.

Standing in the trees was mini Will, one eyebrow raised questioningly at us. We sprang up and ran back towards the trees, Billy tackling mini Will behind a tree, me springing into cover behind a wild rose bush, right as the sliding door at the back or the cabin slid open and a woman walked out, stretched, and walked back in, closing the door behind her.

I was so jealous. Mini Will could raise one eyebrow. Just like all the rangers from the books. Because of this, I was tempted to simply let Billy continue to slap mini Will across the face, but my sense of fairness prevailed and I sprang from behind my rose bush, silently, I might add, and shoved Billy off of mini Will, unfortunately, directly into another wild rose bush.

"YEEOOOOW!" Billy screamed, me and mini Will exchanged horrified glances, though I think I detected some satisfaction in his eyes, as every single ranger in the cabin ran out into the yard. Our mission was screwed.

**_Short chapter, I know, but read and review anyways, okay?_**


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